Yoshino
"Whatever did I do?!" Yoshino was the leader of the bullies in Aki's/Akito's and Misao's school. She can be considered a minor/supporting character in the game, but she was a major player in Misao's disappearance and eventual death. In the Misao novelization, her full name is revealed to be Kazuki Yoshino (making Yoshino her surname). Appearance Unlike the other girls seen in Misao, Yoshino does not wear the full school uniform, just the white blouse and skirt. She wears some sort of yellow undershirt underneath and has a white headband in her short, pink hair. Her most common expression is a smirk with her fingers on her chin and her dark amber-colored eyes slanted, as seen on the information bar. Personality Before and during the events of the game, Yoshino was a mean-spirited girl who often bullied and picked on others that were weaker than her, Misao included. She could come off as sarcastic, but her overall demeanor was that of a typical bully: intimidating and pushy. However, her acts of bullying eventually escalated into outright cruelty, to the point where she coerced a male student to rape Misao in a bathroom stall. In Truth, it's revealed that Yoshino had learned that Misao had a crush on Tohma. Yoshino herself had a crush on Tohma and her feelings of jealousy were what caused her to start tormenting Misao. She can also be noted as a gossip during the initial conversation at the beginning of the game, talking to the others about the strange things happening at school after Misao's disappearance. History Before the Curse At the beginning of the game, Yoshino can be heard gossiping about rumors that the school was being haunted and suggests that it might be Misao. Tohma then says that if it was Misao's doing and she was dead, then Yoshino was a definite target because she was bullying her. Yoshino defends herself by retorting that it was only because she wanted to have 'a little fun'. The Curse Begins After Misao's wrath is unleashed, Yoshino disappears like the others and she found in a laboratory, where she is strapped to an operating table and scared out of her mind. If the player agrees to save her, the player makes Yoshino promise to stop bullying and she readily agrees. However, a man holding a chainsaw comes into the laboratory shortly afterward, forcing the player character to abandon any attempt to rescue Yoshino and find a place to hide. Once the player is hidden (inside a dead man's torso), he or she has no choice but to listen as Yoshino is violently murdered by the man. Strangely enough, when Aki emerges and looks at what's left of Yoshino's body (which is nothing but blood if you're playing Version 3 of the game) she is apparently not bothered in the least that she failed to save the school bully, unlike her genuine remorse over being unable to save Saotome. This is in stark contrast to Akito, who does express regret over not saving Yoshino. Truth End Upon reaching the Truth Ending, one of the graves that is to be visited is Yoshino's. When this is done, the player is transported to what appears to be the boy's bathroom. There are three urinals, containing salt, coins, and a baseball bat, respectively. The player is then to collect the bat and confront the scene, in which ghost copies of Misao are viciously beating Yoshino, who is huddled in the middle begging for Misao to forgive her. In order to save Yoshino here, the player must hit all three of Misao's ghost copies with the bat. Relationships Misao - Yoshino's classmate and main target. It was made obvious from the beginning of the game that Yoshino would be among the first of Misao's victims, and when she struck, Yoshino was transported to a strange laboratory and strapped to a autopsy table where she would eventually be murdered by an unknown man with a chainsaw. (This could possibly be a reference to Sen's other game, Mad Father, in which the player's father is also seen with a chainsaw.) After, when the player makes it to Yoshino's grave in Truth, Misao can be seen ganging up on the ghost of Yoshino with two other copies of herself, kicking and beating the ex-bully severely as punishment for what she did when they were both alive. Aki/Akito - The player's character (default name) and Yoshino's classmate. Not much is known about the relationship between these two, but when Yoshino becomes trapped in the laboratory, the player has the option of helping her out of her predicament or leaving her there. In any case, we can see that Aki/Akito did not care much for Yoshino's bullying, and if the player chooses to help her, she/he makes Yoshino promise to stop bullying. It's unclear if Yoshino was sincere or not (probably not considering her nature) as she was brutally murdered shortly afterwards. It's likely that the reason Aki avoided Misao despite wanting to become her friend is because of Yoshino's tendency to frequently bully Misao, and Aki didn't want to be involved with her, because they didn't want to be bullied also by Yoshino. Tohma - Yoshino's classmate and crush. It's not surprising that Tohma ended up as Yoshino's crush, seeing as how many of the other girls in their class were attracted to him, Misao and Aki included, but Tohma never showed any interest and ended up with Saotome (nicknaming her "Otome" for short) instead. This caused the bullying between Yoshino and Misao to grow when Yoshino found out about Misao's feelings for Tohma. Saotome - Yoshino's classmate. Again, there's not much information known about the history between Saotome and Yoshino, but it is hinted that Yoshino doesn't care much for the relationship between "Otome" and Tohma when she sarcastically refers to them as being "love birds". Kudoh - Yoshino's classmate. She doesn't seem to like him much, as in the boy version, she calls him a jerk. Rec RoomCategory:Characters Below are the descriptions for Yoshino you can view in the Rec Room at the end of Truth. About Yoshino Yoshino is really just a coward and she only bullies those weaker than her. That's why Saotome, with more friends and charm, is exempt from her wrath. Seems to like Tohma despite his girlfriend. She has an unexpectedly earnest side. Yoshino Design Secrets Being a bully was set from the start, so she looks like a mean character. I think she looks more like a delinquent than a bully. Originally named "Sasayama." Her art was based on her sprites, so that was pretty easy. Actually, most characters were designed from sprites. Trivia * The name Yoshino 'means "good luck" (吉), "righteous" (義), "good, virtuous, respectable" (良), "fragrant, virtuous, beautiful" (芳), "joy, pleased" (悦) or "reason, case" (由) ('yoshi) and "field, wilderness" (野) (no). Gallery Category:Female Characters